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And let us not forget that Oregon does not have a sales tax, so you could simply drive to Portland, but any “big ticket” item, cart it home, and save enough to pay for your trip.
John
-----Original Message-----
From: Garrett Clevenger
[mailto:onewildearth@hotmail.com]
Sent: Wednesday,
December 11, 2002 3:05 PM
To: ttrail@moscow.com; vision2020@moscow.com
Subject: mail-order tax exemptions
I'm certainly no fan of taxes, but I understand their necessity. Thus, I wonder why mail order items are not taxed when purchased from another state. I've taken advantage of this loophole, myself, knowing that I could order an item out of state to avoid paying a sales tax.
The real losers in this, besides Idaho's General Fund, are the businesses in Idaho. How can they compete with mail order companies? Why would someone from Moscow buy an item from Boise, or even Moscow, if the item could be bought through mail order from another state, if the total cost turns out to be less for the mail order item? This may not hold for small items, but for computers, other electronics and other more expensive items, it is worth it to order it through the mail.
I doubt that folks from other states are using this loophole to buy items from Idaho. Perhaps this is balancing out, but it doesn't seem like Idaho has as much commerce to offer other states as other states have to offer us. Thus, we are shipping our state's dollars to other states.
Either the sales tax should be repealed, or mail order items should be taxed equally. It does not seem right to have this double standard.
Idaho businesses should be aware that they are losing customers who are not wanting to pay a sales tax. This is an unfair disadvantage to our state's economy.
What is the justification for this loophole?
Garrett Clevenger
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